It appears that you may be blocking the ads, and we are fine with
it (read more here).
That said, it would really be awesome if you decided to whitelist our website or make a donation :)
You can also send us Bitcoins (1DEkropiHPWBmfJxogFaXQscfzhmdpTti4)!

General Information

On this page, we list the spells that you will often use as a
Shadow Priest.

The other pages of our Shadow Priest guide can be accessed
from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author and Reviewer

This guide has been written by Furty, who has an illustrious history in
the World of Warcraft raiding scene and race for World First. He has been a
member of guilds such as Serenity, Midwinter, and many more, and is
currently raiding in Future. He plays most classes at the highest level. You
can follow him on Twitter and
watch him play on
Twitch.

1. Introduction

If you are new to Shadow, this is a great place to start to get an
understanding of how the spec works. On this page we will discuss what
abilities you have, what they are used for within the specialisation, how they
interact with each other and also with important cooldowns. If you already
have experience with Shadow and are comfortable with it in Legion, it is
recommended you skip this section and move on to the rest of the guide.

2. Main Resource

Insanity is your primary resource as a Shadow Priest. Several abilities
(including regularly used ones such as Mind Blast and Mind Flay
generate Insanity), and Insanity is only used for your Voidform. If
you have 100 Insanity you can enter Voidform, an enhanced state during
which your Insanity is progressively drained and which ends when you run out of
Insanity. Insanity management is a crucial part of playing a Shadow Priest.

Mana is your secondary resource as a Shadow Priest. Most spells cost Mana
to use, although generally, attentively managing your Mana is not required.

3. Basic Abilities

These are your core skills that are available regardless of talents, and form
the core gameplay of the specialization.

Void Eruption has a 2-second cast time (reduced by Haste), at the
end of which you enter the above-described Voidform. Void Eruption
also deals some damage to all targets affected by your
Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch DoTs. The Shadow rotation
is greatly altered while you are inside of Voidform, and this is the part of
the gameplay that is the most complex. During Voidform, your damage is
increased by 20%, the cooldown of Mind Blast is reduced by 3 seconds,
and you gain 1% Haste per second (multiplicatively).

Shadow Word: Pain is one of your two DoTs. It deals Shadow damage
to the target over time, and generates Insanity on application.

Vampiric Touch is one of your two DoTs. It deals Shadow damage to
the target over time, heals you for 50% of the damage dealt, and generates
Insanity on application.

Mind Blast deals damage to a single target, which has a 9-second
cooldown, affected by Haste, and which generates a high amount of Insanity.
It is generally one of your highest priority spells.

Mind Flay is a channeled spell that deals Shadow damage to the
target and slows their movement speed by 50%. It generates Insanity, has
no cooldown, and is generally used as a filler throughout your rotation.
If Shadow Word: Pain is applied to your target, Mind Flay
will also deal Shadow damage to nearby targets as well and generate an
additional 1 Insanity per target hit.

Shadow Word: Death deals damage to a single target, and can only be
used against targets that are below 20% health. It generates Insanity, and
a greater amount of Insanity if the target is killed by Shadow Word: Death.

4. Cooldowns

Shadowfiend has a 3-minute cooldown and it summons a shadowy
fiend that attacks your target for 12 seconds (extended once the trait
Fiending Dark is unlocked). It provides a small DPS
boost, and is considered an offensive cooldown (although not a tremendously
powerful one). It should be paired with high Haste buffs such as high
Voidform stacks and Bloodlust.

Dispersion has a 2-minute cooldown (reduced by 40 seconds once
the trait From the Shadows is unlocked). It lasts 6 seconds, during
which time all damage you take is reduced by 60% and you cannot be stunned,
snared, feared, or silenced. During Dispersion, you do not lose any Insanity
(if you are in Voidform), but you also cannot attack or cast any
spells. Generally, this is used to extend the amount of time you spend in
Voidform to allow you to reach another Void Torrent, or to help
you survive dangerous mechanics. It is frequently used to avoid mechanics that
would otherwise force you to drop out of Voidform due to extended
movement and lack of Insanity generation.